MMA james irvin out of fight w/mcfredries. New opponent....

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]- XAVIER FOUPA-POKAM STEPS IN TO FIGHT MCFEDRIES [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Thursday, April 30, 2009 - by Damon Martin - MMAWeekly.com [/FONT] Just hours after learning that James Irvin was forced out of UFC 98 with a knee injury, MMAWeekly.com has confirmed that Xavier Foupa-Pokam will step in to replace him to face Drew McFedries in a middleweight showdown.

The news was confirmed late on Wednesday night with sources close to the fight stating verbal agreements are in place at this point, but nothing officially signed.

Xavier Foupa-Pokam was on a seven-fight win streak up until his UFC debut earlier this month. He was derailed at UFC 97 by former Pride star Denis Kang, losing a three-round decision.

Seizing the opportunity to step back into action quickly, Foupa-Pokam will look to put his considerable striking skills up against a tough opponent in Miletich fighter Drew McFedries.

Currently holding a 3-4 record in the UFC, McFedries has to feel the pressure in what is essentially a must win situation to stay with the promotion. Always exciting in his fights, McFedries brings a wealth of experience into his match-up against Foupa-Pokam.

There was no word if the fight between McFedries and Foupa-Pokam would remain on the main card or get moved to the preliminary slot for the show.

Stay tuned to MMAWeekly.com for more information on UFC 98 as it becomes available.

The last 48 hours have been a wild whirlwind for James Irvin, Chael Sonnen and Wilson Gouveia. MMAWeekly.com is reporting that James Irvin will now face Wilson Gouveia at UFC 102 on August 29th. This fight has been added to an already stacked card that also features Randy Couture, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Demian Maia, Nate Marquardt, Keith Jardine, Thiago Silva, Matt Hamill, Brandon Vera and Chris Leben in key matchups.

As reported earlier, Irvin was forced out his UFC 98 bout with Drew McFedries due to a torn miniscus which will keep him out of action for five weeks. McFedries will now face Xavier Foupa-Pokam at UFC 98. Irvin had been serving a suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for testing positive for painkillers methadone and oxymorphone after his one minute loss to Anderson Silva at UFC Fight Night 14 last July and this fight will be his first since serving the suspension.

Wilson Gouveia was originally scheduled to face Chael Sonnen at UFC 102, but Sonnen was moved to a fight at UFC 98 against Dan Miller. Miller was originally slated to face Yushin Okami at UFC 98, however Okami had to drop out due to a knee injury on Thursday. Gouveia is coming off of TKO loss in his most recent fight against Nate Marquardt at UFC 95.

Free-falling light heavyweight Houston Alexander has been scratched from his fight against Andre Gusmao at UFC 98 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 23 because of a broken hand suffered during training.

The UFC confirmed the injury earlier today and is expected to name his replacement shortly.

This is the third bout within the past four days to undergo a change in competitors. Late last week, James Irvin was replaced by Xavier Foupa-Pokam against Drew McFedries after tearing his knee and postponing his middleweight debut.

Later that day, Chael Sonnen was tapped to replace an injured Yushin Okami opposite Dan Miller after “Thunder,” like “The Sandman,” did serious damage to his knee.

Frank Mir, Quinton Jackson and Josh Koscheck were all attached to this card at one point as well — before injuries gave them the boot.

“The Assassin” now has the honor of joining that illustrious fraternity.

Alexander (8-4) was relatively unknown to the masses until he burst onto the scene with two destructive performances inside the Octagon, taking out top contender Keith Jardine in his debut back at UFC 71: “Liddell vs. Jackson” in May 2007 and then crumbling Alessio Sakara at UFC 75: “Champion vs. Champion” less than four months later.

The Nebraskan, however, quickly returned to Earth — practically crash landing with three straight losses to Thiago Silva at UFC 78, James Irvin Fight Night 13 and Eric Schafer at Fight Night 15.

UFC President Dana White indicated before his most recent loss to Schafer that Alexander needed a win or would risk having to take fights in smaller organizations and win his way back into the Octagon for another opportunity to shine.

It appeared that the charismatic father of six would get at least once more chance to prove he belongs with the top mixed martial arts promotion in the world — until this latest setback that could keep him out of action for several months.

Stay tuned.

UFC 98 will feature (we hope) the light heavyweight title fight between Rashad Evans and undefeated challenger Lyoto Machida. Also on the May 23 card, former UFC welterweight champions Matt Hughes and Matt Serra will finally settle their eternal grudge match.